


A Winter Weekend

by Bluewolf458



Category: The Sentinel
Genre: Gen, Sentinel Thursday
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-23
Updated: 2016-11-23
Packaged: 2018-09-01 16:47:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,236
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8631409
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bluewolf458/pseuds/Bluewolf458
Summary: Jim and Blair away for the weekend.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the Sentinel Thursday prompt 'blink'

A Winter Weekend

by Bluewolf

It had been a good day - a very good day, even although the temperature hadn't risen to much above freezing. Cold though it had been, the sun had been shining all day from a cloudless sky; conditions had been perfect for a brisk hike, and both Jim and Blair had thoroughly enjoyed themselves. Even Blair's sensitivity to the cold hadn't served to spoil the day for him. Visibility had been excellent, allowing them to appreciate vistas that were often hidden by low cloud.

They had actually gone further than they'd planned, and now they were pushing themselves a little to get back to their camp before darkness fell; the light was already failing. Jim's attention was wholly on the almost overgrown path in front of them; Blair, following, spared a moment to glance around to where the ground dropped off gradually to their left.

"Jim!"

"What? Are you all right?"

"Down there." Blair pointed.

Jim frowned slightly. "There's nothing there."

"A minute ago... there was a light flashing."

And then Jim saw it. Blink... blink... blink... blink... blink... blink - and then nothing for a minute or two; and then again blink... blink... blink... blink... blink... blink.

"Someone's in trouble!" Jim snapped. "Come on!" He headed downhill, Blair scrambling after him, glad that it was still only half dark and he wasn't having to struggle with no light at all.

Maintaining a fast pace on the overgrown path hadn't been easy; trying to go fast over this rough ground where there wasn't a path at all wasn't something Blair ever wanted to do again.

Blink... blink... blink... blink... blink... blink. Everything went dark again.

"I can see them," Jim said. "One lying down, one kneeling beside him."

"How far?" Blair gasped.

"Maybe quarter of a mile."

Blink... blink... blink... blink... blink... blink.

They reached the men at about the time Blair reckoned they would start signalling again.

"Problem, guys?" Jim asked.

"Oh, thank God!" the one with the flashlight said. "My brother - he put his foot in a hole. His leg's broken. I didn't want to leave him to get help - "

Jim did a quick check of the injured man and nodded. "Yes - definitely broken," he said, then, "you don't have a cell phone?"

"Yes, but it's out of charge. Tom - " He gave his brother a rueful glance - "spent so much time talking to his girl friend this morning while we were driving here that he drained the battery."

"It can happen," Blair said sympathetically as Jim nodded and pulled out his own cell phone. "You camped near here?"

"No - we're just out for the day. We left our car beside an old blue and white truck down there - " he pointed.

"Sounds like ours," Blair said.

Jim said, "Thanks!" and closed his phone. "They've agreed to send out a chopper," he said. "They'll only be able to take your brother; we'll have to walk back in the dark, but at least the moon'll be rising soon - "

"And we have your flashlight," Blair put in. "I'm Blair, by the way, and this is Jim."

"Brian."

They talked spasmodically - Tom saying almost nothing - for a while, and then Blair noticed Jim's head tilting slightly and knew that the sentinel could hear the helicopter. Jim said nothing, however, and eventually it was Brian who said, "Is that the helicopter coming?"

"I think so," Jim replied.

"Maybe we'd better switch on the flashlight to give them a target?" Blair suggested.

Jim was scanning the sky. "Not till we see its lights," he said. A few moments later they all saw the chopper's lights appearing above the darker outline of trees against the sky. "Now!" he said, and Brian switched it on, pointing it upwards.

Minutes later it dropped to land beside them, its paramedic crew jumping out as soon as it had stopped.

"Thanks, guys," Jim said.

It didn't take long before Tom was lifted onto a stretcher and lifted into the chopper. "Will you be able to get back to the road all right?" one of the paramedics asked.

"The moon'll be up soon," Jim said, "and our camp is only a mile or so from here. Brian can stay with us for the night and we'll get back to Cascade in the morning. Cascade General, right?"

"Yes. Be careful!" He scrambled into the chopper, the door closed and it took off.

Once its lights were out of sight behind the trees, Jim said, "I think the easiest route for us is to get back to the path we were following when we saw your light flashing. Safer than trying to find our camp over this rough ground."

"You lead the way," Blair said, "and take the flashlight."

"Wouldn't we be better to wait till the moon's up?" Brian asked.

"As well as having the flashlight, Jim's got good night vision," Blair said, "and as long as we stay close behind him, it'll be safe enough."

It didn't take very long for them to regain the half-overgrown path, and Jim led the others along it, going slightly faster than he had when climbing up the pathless hillside. They hadn't gone far when the moon rose, and its light meant that Blair and Brian were no longer as dependent on Jim to show them the way as they had been.

When they reached the camp, Jim looked at Brian. "Want to stay here with us till morning, or get back to your car?"

Brian hesitated, knowing that even with the flashlight he would struggle.

"You'd like to get back to Cascade, go to the hospital and see how Tom is, right?" Jim said.

"Well... yes, but... "

"It's okay," Jim told him. "Want to have something to eat first, then I'll take you to your car."

Brian shook his head. "Just... I want to get back."

"No problem," Jim murmured.

"I'll have coffee ready when you get back," Blair said softly.

Jim nodded and headed off, Brian close behind him.

***

Jim was back inside half an hour. Blair poured him a coffee. "Dinner in about ten," he said. He hesitated. "How did you know there was a problem? It wasn't as if Brian was signalling SOS."

"It's another way of signalling for help," Jim said. "Six whistles at two minute intervals during the day, six flashes of light once it's dark."

"Oh," Blair said as he leaned forward to check the cooking meal.

"I didn't hear any whistles, though," Jim said, "so I'd guess Tom didn't have his accident till after it started getting dark."

"Though it was lucky a chopper pilot was willing to come out in the dark," Blair added.

"If he hadn't, they'd have sent an ambulance and half a dozen men, rather than leave someone with a badly broken leg lying all night, especially at this time of year. I spoke to the pilot on the phone; he said he could log it as a training flight - they do have to do some night flying occasionally, and if they pick up a casualty on a 'training flight', nobody makes waves."

Blair checked their dinner again, and reached for their plates.

"Did anyone have a bet on what might go wrong this weekend?" he asked.

Jim chuckled. "Of course they did," he said, "but I don't think anyone bet on us rescuing someone with a broken leg."

He took his plate and started eating.

 

 

 


End file.
